Epidaurus tickets come in two kinds: entry tickets for the archaeological site of Epidaurus in the Argolis, which open the ancient theatre, the Sanctuary of Asclepius and the museum, and tickets for evening performances at the theatre during the Athens Epidaurus Festival. Tours across the rest of the country are listed on Greece Tours.
The sections below cover what each ticket opens, where to buy it, audio guides, free and reduced entry, tours that include tickets, festival tickets and seats, getting there and the best time to go, with links into the Nafplio pages. The tickets shown are checked on GetYourGuide and Viator.
What do Epidaurus tickets cover?
Epidaurus tickets for visiting the site open the archaeological grounds and the museum of the Sanctuary of Asclepius, as the official Hellenic Heritage listing states. The ancient theatre belongs to that sanctuary, so one entry takes in the theatre, the ruins and the museum collection.
The official store sells Epidaurus tickets as timed visits. A buyer picks a date and an entry slot, and the ticket then works for a single entry at that date and slot, so leaving the grounds ends the visit. GetYourGuide’s plain entry ticket follows the same idea and lists a validity of one day.
Epidaurus is famous for its theatre, yet the official description treats the theatre as only one part of the Sanctuary of Asclepius. The museum’s entry in the Directorate of Archaeological Museums catalogue folds the archaeological site into the full ticket, and the official store sells a single visit product, so Epidaurus tickets never divide the museum from the ruins.
Entry on Epidaurus tickets comes with house rules from the official store: large luggage, food, and professional photo shoots or filming are not allowed inside. The history of each monument behind the gate, from the healing rites to the theatre’s design, is covered on our main Epidaurus page.
Which monuments do Epidaurus tickets open?
Epidaurus tickets give entry to the Sanctuary of Asclepius, with its ancient theatre, temple of Asclepius, Tholos, Abaton stoa, Katagogion guest house and stadium, and to the museum that displays the finds from the sanctuary’s excavations, all on the same archaeological site.
The official Hellenic Heritage page names these six monuments and notes that parts of them survive to this day. Reseller Epidaurus tickets point to the same places: the GetYourGuide ticket with optional audio highlights the ancient theatre and the archaeological museum, while the Viator ticket names the temple of Asclepius and the theatre.
The museum completes what Epidaurus tickets open. Its collection comes from the excavations of 1881 to 1928, led by the archaeologist Panagis Kavvadias with the Archaeological Society of Athens, and the finds span the Archaic era to Roman times. Its listed services include a shop, a cafe, parking, a ramp and a WC for disabled visitors.
Where do you buy Epidaurus tickets for the archaeological site?
Three channels sell Epidaurus tickets for the archaeological site: tickets.hh.gr, the official Hellenic Heritage e-ticket service; the ticket counters at the site itself; and resellers, among them GetYourGuide and Viator, which pair the entry with audio commentary, an app or a guide.
ODAP and the Hellenic Ministry of Culture operate that service jointly, and its Epidaurus listing carries the name Sanctuary of Asclepius in Epidaurus. Every booking there comes with a fixed entry time, the store accepts up to two changes per ticket until two hours before entry, and Epidaurus tickets bought there work on a phone screen or as a printout.
The ticket counters at the site handle sales in person. On the free-admission days they turn into the only source, since the official store does not sell online tickets for those dates. Anyone planning a free visit on one of those days therefore collects Epidaurus tickets at a counter on arrival.
Resellers sell the entry under their own booking terms. Viator lists a ticket for the temple of Asclepius and the theatre that its product link marks as skip-the-line, and GetYourGuide sells two entry products with audio options. One GetYourGuide product offers free cancellation, unlike the official Epidaurus tickets, which carry no refund.
Which Epidaurus tickets include an audio guide?
Two Epidaurus tickets on GetYourGuide include audio: a dated entry ticket with audio as an extra, and a skip-the-line entry ticket that adds a virtual reality app with multilingual commentary. The official Hellenic Heritage ticket lists no audio guide on its store page.
The first product is an entrance ticket for a chosen date and time, and its summary points visitors to the architecture of the ancient theatre and the archaeological museum. The audio is optional, sales close 15 minutes before the slot, and these Epidaurus tickets are sold to adults aged 18 and over only.
The second product pairs a prebooked entry with a virtual reality app and multilingual commentary, designed to let visitors relive the ancient world of Epidaurus. Its listing gives the tour 2 hours, notes wheelchair access and a skip-the-line entrance, and offers free cancellation; these Epidaurus tickets stop selling 30 minutes before the slot.
The Viator ticket for the temple of Asclepius and the theatre mentions no audio in its product name, so check the listing before counting on commentary. The official store’s Epidaurus page describes no audio guide either, which leaves the two GetYourGuide Epidaurus tickets as the audio options to compare.
Who gets free or reduced Epidaurus tickets?
Children up to 18, EU citizens aged 18 to 25 and visitors with a disability of 67% or more get free Epidaurus tickets, as does every visitor on the official free days. A 50% reduction covers EU seniors over 65 and adults accompanying school visits.
The official store sets out the proof each free group needs. Children and young EU adults show an ID or passport, while visitors with a disability of 67% or more add a KEPA disability certificate or a foreign equivalent; one escort with them also enters on free Epidaurus tickets.
The 50% reduction applies to three groups: EU seniors over 65, who show an ID or passport; teachers accompanying school visits; and Greek or EU parents accompanying primary school visits. Reduced or free Epidaurus tickets booked online still need their paperwork, since valid identification or the matching certificate must be shown at entry.
The free days follow a fixed calendar, and on each of them Epidaurus tickets carry no charge for any visitor, whatever their age or nationality. The dates listed by Hellenic Heritage, with the names the Directorate of Archaeological Museums gives them, are:
- Melina Mercouri’s memorial day, 6 March
- The 18 April International Monuments Day
- International Museums Day
- European Heritage Days, held over September’s last weekend
- The national holiday of 28 October
- Every first and third Sunday from 1 November to 31 March
Which tours include Epidaurus tickets?
A licensed guide leads a private Viator tour that includes Epidaurus tickets as part of the product. A second private Viator tour and three GetYourGuide departures from Nafplio do not say whether entry is covered, so check the listing before you book.
On Viator, that guided private tour names the tickets next to the guide, so admission comes with the booking. Viator’s other private option promises a licensed expert guide but leaves admission out of its product name, so check the listing first if Epidaurus tickets matter to the plan.
Nafplio is the starting point for all three GetYourGuide options. The shortest runs 5 hours and pairs the ancient theatre with the seaside village of Palaia Epidaurus, with a private option available. Both longer departures fill 6 hours, cover Mycenae as well as Epidaurus and list pickup; a licensed tour guide leads one of them.
Two of the three flag skip-the-line entry, yet none of their summaries says that Epidaurus tickets come with the tour, so check the listing of each before booking. The Mycenae stop needs its own admission, because the Epidaurus ticket gives access to Epidaurus alone; our page on Mycenae tickets covers that site.
How do Epidaurus tickets work for the Athens Epidaurus Festival?
Festival Epidaurus tickets admit one person to one performance at the ancient theatre, on the date and in the numbered seat printed on the ticket. The festival stages its programme on Friday and Saturday nights each summer, with the main run in July and August.
The Athens Epidaurus Festival has staged drama in the ancient theatre since 1955, when Euripides’ Hecuba opened the first season on 19 June. In the latest season, Epidaurus tickets covered nights from 20 June, when the Greek National Opera staged Cherubini’s Medea, to 29 August, when the Cyprus Theatre Organisation closed the run with Euripides’ Ion.
Between those dates, paired Friday and Saturday nights brought Aeschylus’ The Persians, Euripides’ The Bacchae, Alcestis and The Trojan Women, Aristophanes’ Eirene (Peace) and Lysistrata, and an Antigone inspired by Sophocles. The National Theatre of Greece performed The Trojan Women with Greek and English surtitles.
Staff check Epidaurus tickets in paper or digital form at the entrance, and holders of reduced tickets show an identity card with proof of their status. Nobody enters after the start except during an interval. Phones stay switched off, and high heels, smoking, food, drink and photography are not allowed in the theatre.
Where do you buy festival Epidaurus tickets?
Festival Epidaurus tickets sell on aefestival.gr and on more.com, the festival’s official ticket distributor, and also at the festival box offices, through its call centre and at its affiliated resellers. Tickets from unauthorised resellers or other platforms are not valid for entry.
A box office sale carries no extra service fee, while online and phone sales add one. Popular productions, classical plays above all, can sell out fast, so anyone set on a particular date buys Epidaurus tickets well in advance. The festival runs these box offices:
- the main box office at Syntagma Square, in the City of Athens infopoint
- the box office at the Peiraios 260 venue
- the box office at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus
- the box office at the Little Theatre of Ancient Epidaurus
Reduced Epidaurus tickets exist for persons with disabilities, unemployed people, art school students, other students, people aged 65 and over, members of artist unions, large families and children. They sell online and at the box offices in limited numbers on a first-come, first-served basis, and a dedicated festival email address handles bookings for persons with disabilities.
Which seats and zones do Epidaurus theatre tickets offer?
Festival Epidaurus tickets offer numbered seats in two zones: the lower tier of 34 rows and the upper tier of 21 rows, divided by a curved aisle. Every seat on both tiers carries a number, and the seat picked at purchase is final.
Built into the north side of Mount Kynortio, the auditorium rises at roughly 26 degrees and seats about 14,000 people. Narrow flights of steps split both tiers into 12 wedge-shaped segments. Epidaurus tickets for the upper tier place you in the section added during the second building phase, in the middle of the 2nd century BC.
The split between the tiers is ancient. The lower 34 rows were set aside for priests and officials and the upper 21 for the people, while the front rows of each tier served as places of honour for important guests. Today the cost of Epidaurus tickets depends on the production, the seating category and demand.
How do you reach the theatre with your Epidaurus tickets?
Holders of Epidaurus tickets arrive by car, a half-hour drive from Nafplio and about two hours from Athens, or by the festival coach that KTEL Argolida runs from Athens on performance days. The theatre has its own car park for cars and coaches.
The festival coach leaves from the bus stop at 150 Iera Odos, near Eleonas Metro Station, for a ride of about two hours, and heads back after the performance with stops at Eleonas and Syntagma, where Mitropoleos Street is the last stop. Booked through more.com, the coach ticket covers transport only, not Epidaurus tickets for the show.
Drivers with Epidaurus tickets leave the Athens-Corinth Motorway right after the bridge over the Corinth Canal and follow the Corinth-Epidaurus road. After about an hour, past the turns for Nea Epidavros and Palea Epidavros, the Lygourio crossroads points the way to the Sanctuary of Asklepios. From Nafplio, the drive runs through Lygourio, and cars carrying wheelchair users can continue to the theatre square.
Without a car or the festival coach, the public route runs from the Kifissos bus station in Athens to Nafplio, where local KTEL Argolida buses continue to Epidaurus. On performance evenings, private taxis, minivans and minibuses carry audiences to and from the theatre, and Nafplio transfers cover the run from the town.
When is the best time to use Epidaurus tickets?
Use festival Epidaurus tickets on their Friday or Saturday night in July or August, reaching the theatre 60 minutes before the performance begins, as the festival asks. For a daytime visit to the site in high season, an early morning arrival beats the queues.
Extreme weather, such as a heat wave or a storm, can close the archaeological site for a time or change its hours. On festival days, the evening performance can also limit access to the theatre later in the day, which makes the morning the clearest window for a daytime visit.
A daytime look at the theatre fits an Epidaurus day trip from Athens or a Mycenae and Epidaurus day trip from Athens. A festival night needs its own plan, with transport arranged and time to spare before and after the show, because Epidaurus tickets for a performance cover one evening only.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you cancel or change festival Epidaurus tickets?
No. Festival Epidaurus tickets cannot be cancelled after purchase or moved to another day, time or seat, and each admits one person only. If the festival cancels a performance outright, it refunds the face value, but the extra per-ticket charges for distribution through more.com stay non-refundable.
What happens to Epidaurus tickets if weather or fire stops a show?
The festival can move the date, time or venue of an event hit by strikes, government bans, force majeure or bad weather. Epidaurus tickets earn no refund when bad weather halts a show after its halfway point, but when wildfires cancelled a Trojan Women night, online buyers got automatic card refunds.
Can children attend with Epidaurus tickets?
Children aged 6 and over can attend with their own Epidaurus tickets, and reduced children’s tickets cover ages 6 to 17. Children under 6 cannot attend performances in the theatre. During performances at the ancient theatre, the Little Trackers workshop explores the same play with children aged 5 to 9.
Do festival Epidaurus tickets include entry to the archaeological site?
No. Festival Epidaurus tickets cover one performance, and the festival sells them apart from standard admission to the archaeological site, with a different ticketing process and pricing. A daytime visit to the theatre and the Sanctuary of Asklepios needs a standard site ticket.